Federal Home Loan Bank to buy, move to Voya building

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines plans to expand its workforce to 280 employees from the current 260. An earlier version of this article misstated the number of new workers.

Monday, March 6, 2017 10:12 AM

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines plans to buy and renovate a downtown building that currently serves as the headquarters for Voya Financial, according to a staff report to the Des Moines City Council. The lender plans to add 20 employees to its present workforce of 260.

The Federal Home Loan Bank, which became the largest regional bank in the federal home loan system in 2015 after finalizing its merger with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, plans to spend up to $25 million to renovate the building, which is owned by the Graham Group, at 909 Locust St. The 21-year-old, 225,000-square-foot building had been home to Dutch financial services firm ING U.S., after it bought Equitable of Iowa in the late 1990s. ING U.S. later became a standalone company and has re-branded as Voya Financial.

The Des Moines City Council will be asked today to approve the preliminary terms of an urban renewal agreement for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines' purchase and expansion. The package includes tax increment financing of 50 percent of the value of improvements to the 909 Locust building and a 20 percent discount on parking rates for up to 425 stalls in the Ninth and Locust parking garage for 10 years. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines plans to occupy half of the building after its move and lease the remaining office space.

The Business Record reported in 2014 that Voya's main center for broker-dealer and annuities businesses was in Des Moines, where the company employed 400 people at the time. The company is expected to stay in Des Moines. Read more about the merger of the Federal Home Loan Banks of Des Moines and Seattle in The Elbert Files at BusinessRecord.com.